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Worship, Theology and Art
Jeremy Begbie is a fantastic teacher in the area of worship, thelogy and the arts. Here is a 15 minute demonstration of his craft worth your time. He's coming to spend some time with us at the seminary this fall.
I will be interviewing Dr. Begbie in November as part of his visit. As you listen to this presentation, write points of conversation and inquiries you would have for him. (comment field) This will help me prepare.
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 5/13/2009 09:24:00 AM | 1 comments
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Holy Spirit Reading
In this season of Pentecost, I am reading Father Raniero Cantalamessa's "Come Creator Spirit: Meditations on the Veni Creator." It is his commentary on the ancient hymn by the same title. This is a brilliant, masterful and very accessible work. What I love about Father C. is that he is simultaneously theological and poetic and thoroughly immersed in the Word of God. I'll try to flow out some quotes and thoughts in the coming weeks. For starters-- here' the hymn. It would be a good prayer to get lost in.
Come, Creator Spirit,
visit the minds of those who are yours;
fill with heavenly grace
the hearts that you have made.
You who are named the Paraclete,
gift of God most high,
living fountain, fire, love
and anointing for the soul.
You are sevenfold in your gifts,
you are finger of God's right hand,
you, the Father's solemn promise
putting words upon our lips.
Kindle a light in our senses,
pour love into our hearts,
infirmities of this body of ours
overcoming with strength secure.
The enemy drive from us away,
peace then give without delay;
with you as guide to lead the way
we avoid all cause of harm.
Grant we may know the Father through you,
and come to know the Son as well,
and may we always cling in faith
to you, the Spirit of them both.
Amen.
Labels: Come Holy Spirit, passion year, quotes, theology
posted by John David Walt | at 6/09/2007 12:54:00 PM | 3 comments
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Come Holy Spirit (my sermon for today's Chapel)
COME HOLY SPIRIT. June 6, 2007. Summer Chapel Session I. Asbury Theological Seminary. Wilmore, Kentucky. John David Walt, Jr. copyright
In the Church calendar—which I prefer to call the Passion Year, we are living in the days following Pentecost. The great irony for me is the way the calendar speaks of these days. On the one hand, there is this extravagant celebration of the day of Pentecost—the mighty wind blows, the fire falls down, the Gospel is miraculously proclaimed in other languages followed by extraordinary signs and wonders all over the place. Now on the other hand—the calendar almost immediately seems to shut down the party and declare a season called. . . . . . anyone know???? Yes, ordinary time. If there is one thing the season after Pentecost is not, it is ordinary. And perhaps this is the great problem of the Church. We think of Pentecost primarily as a historical event rather than a present reality. When it comes to the Holy Spirit we have sound doctrine, but weak practice.
There are four primary realities in the Christian life—four fundamentals if you will. They are the Word, the Spirit, the person and the community. The place where we see these realities come into perfection of focus is in—you guessed it—the life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
God the Father sent the Spirit to the young virgin Mary who himself conceived in her the Son. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus profoundly throughout every day of his childhood and youth and yet one day he comes to the Jordan River and everything seems to change. He goes under the water and we see this apparition, this manifestation that looks like a dove, descending and landing on him. It’s the Holy Spirit. But wasn’t he already full of the Holy Spirit. How does that work? Was all that just for show? Or did the one who was full of the Holy Spirit just become even more full. Super-charged! Stoked! Enflamed! A more biblical option: anointed.
I love how his early witnesses spoke of him: This from Acts 10.
37You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
I love how Luke, the writer of the Acts of the Holy Spirit, also known as the book of Acts, recounts the work of the Holy Spirit in his Gospel account. After his baptism, we read, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. 40 days later, we read, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.” Next he goes to the hometown Synagogue in Nazareth and he reads this text: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
So far so good. But now this: “Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the [acolyte] and sat down.” Luke tells us “The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The Word become flesh—in the Person of the Son by the power of the Spirit dwelling in the midst of the community.
You see, if we want to learn about the Holy Spirit, we must turn to Jesus. I love how Father Raniero Cantalamessa calls Jesus “the great Poet of the Spirit). And yet if we really want to learn and understand Jesus we must turn to the Holy Spirit.
After the Scripture reading, Jesus then proceeds to preach a six sentence sermon after which the the people promptly escort him to the cliff to throw him off. Watch what happens next. Isaiah 61 happens—He casts out a demon (in the synagogue), rebukes the fever in Peter’s Mother-in-Law, Healed everyone who was sick in the fishing village of Capernaum, begins to build his own community of disciples, cleanses a leper with a touch of his hand, forgives the sins of a paralytic and empowers him to walk, recruits a tax collector, rebukes the religious establishment, preaches the most famous sermon in the history of the world, heals a Roman Soldier’s servant from a distance of 10 miles, raises a widow’s son from the dead, eats with sinners, calms a raging thunderstorm with a three words, casts hundreds of demons out of one man into a large herd of pigs, heals a woman bleeding sick for twelve years through the touch of his clothing, raises a twelve year old girl from the dead, Feeds ten or twelve thousand people with five loaves and two fishes, and has a small group meeting with Moses and Elijah.
All this and we aren’t even half way through the Gospel. We come to Chapter 11— where finally his disciples begin to ask him how this works.
5Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' 7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness[e] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
I’m not a Holy Spirit scholar, but I am an avid student and while I have much yet to learn, I have learned a few things already. (As an aside, here’s some free advice and encouragement. Give yourself to serious, immersive study of the Holy Spirit while you are here. My own practice is to focus in an immersive way on the Holy Spirit in the summer months in what for me is a season of Pentecost. This time I’m reading Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa’s Come Creator Spirit, a fantastic commentary on the ancient hymn to the Holy Spirit.) There is a mysterious sense in which the Holy Spirit can be with you completely and yet there is still room for more. Let me test this learning on you: The Holy Spirit has limitless capacity and at the same time you have limitless capacity for the Holy Spirit. As I wrote that sentence, I wondered if I had just committed heresy. I called my mentor and resident theologian on the Holy Spirit, Maxie Dunnam. I read him the claim—“the Holy Spirit has limitless capacity and at the same time you have limitless capacity for the Holy Spirit.” There was a long pause. I cringed. Maxie spoke in his authoritative voice, “That’s absolutely true!”
The big mistake we make with respect to the Holy Spirit is in the way we think of him like an it and consequently speak in the terms of transaction and commodity. The Spirit is not a substance or a force-field. He is a person who moves like the power of the wind and with the intimacy of breath. And though he is with us, he can always be more with us. Though we are filled with him we can always be fuller.
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Let me close with the admonition that we must grow in our practice of Pentecost. It starts with a very simple prayer. It’s perhaps the most powerful prayer of the Church. You know it.
COME HOLY SPIRIT!
Write it on your doorpost, bind it to your wrist, write it on your forehead, doodle it in all your textbooks and notebooks, on bathroom walls, . . . . . . you get the point.
COME HOLY SPIRIT!
At my graduation from the seminary, I asked then President, Maxie Dunnam, to write a charge in my bible. At the top of the charge he wrote these words,
John David, I charge you, to keep the gift of the Holy Spirit stirred up within you.
I am learning to pray this prayer at all times in all places, COME HOLY SPIRIT! It’s like setting the sail on a ship. It’s like taking a deep breath. You will find yourself this summer in hospitals full of sick people desperate for healing, with grieving families desperate for comfort, among lost people desperate for salvation, with demonized people desperate for deliverance, with hungry people desperate for food, with religious people desperate for control, with rich people seemingly desparate for no apparent reason. Learn to whisper the prayer, sing the prayer, shout the prayer, to signal the ascended Lord in the heavens with the prayer—COME HOLY SPIRIT.
Nowhere is this prayer more necessary and needful than in the home with the family. As we crossed over the celebration of Pentecost this year, our family learned the fruit of the Spirit. At each meal we begin by chanting, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” And then with exuberance we pray, “COME HOLY SPIRIT!”
This is the prayer at the heart of the prayer at the heart of the Church—the Great Thanksgiving. We call it the Epiclesis: “Come Holy Spirit and be poured out on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine and make them be for us the Body of Christ that we may be for the World the Body of Christ redeemed by his blood. Come Holy Spirit and make us one with Christ and one with each other in ministry to all the World until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.
Labels: Come Holy Spirit, passion year, theology
posted by John David Walt | at 6/06/2007 01:12:00 PM | 2 comments
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Chaos Theory I was thinking how CHAOS leads people to respond in two primarily different ways. On the one hand CHAOS elicits a response or reaction of trying to take or seize control. People want order and they attempt to get it by taking control. Control kills creativity. This is ironic because the only true way to true order is creativity. So the movement is not
Chaos to Control to Order
but
Chaos to Creativity to Order
The former way leads to tyranny. The latter leads to freedom. The former seems easy and is in actuality the essence of temptation. The latter is seems hard and impractical and is the essence of the beautiful. The former works through compliance; the latter through empowerment. In the one obedience is forced; in the other obedience is inspired.
Think about Creation. From Chaos came Creation which became Order.
Now think about the latter religious initiatives of Israel-- at the time of Christ. They faced Chaos in their land. The religious renewal movements sought to seize control in order to establish order. In their minds Messiah would be all about this agenda of control. Then Messiah comes and he turns out not to look like control at all but Creativity. And the amazing thing is that Creativity was bringing forth a new order out of the Chaos-- blind see! lame walk! deaf hear! dead raised! lepers cured! poor hear good news! The True Order--the Kingdom of Heaven-- came through the True Way: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
NOw think about the cross. At the cross, Control arrested and crucified Creativity in the quest for Order and what ensued was ULTIMATE CHAOS-- HUMANITY MURDERS GOD! But . . . . . . .
FROM CHAOS came CREATIVITY and the new order continued. . . . . . and we pray every day
THY KINGDOM COME. THY WILL BE DONE. ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
the real question has to do with leadership-- control or creativity. any thoughts?
photo from CliffView Retreat Center outside Danville, Kentucky
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 9/28/2005 10:24:00 PM | 7 comments
Friday, September 09, 2005
hidden yet revealed I've been reflecting a good bit lately on Jesus words in Matthew 11 where he says this:
"I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
As you may be aware, I work at a theological seminary, where the constant temptation is to aspire to becoming "wise and learned," when I think the goal of theological education is to re-find the posture of little children who are capable of receiving revelation. In a conversation with Bob Mulholland yesterday, one of our New Testament professors, he recalled one of the devotional masters as referring to this as the second niaevete (butchered that spelling but you get it).
My children constantly show me this way. Our youngest, Lily (16 months) has had a nasty ear infection for the past several days. Each night and sometimes spontaneously through the day David and Mary Kathryn will lay hands on her and pray for her to be healed. She seems to be better tonight. We were out on the back porch this evening when Mary Kathryn (3) approached Lily, placed her hand on her forehead and said in a matter of fact tone, "Lily, your faith has made you well!"
It cracked us up. Then we realized she was completely serious with this ministry. We didn't teach her to make such declarations. She has picked it up from our nightly Bible reading. She's inside the Story isn't she.
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 9/09/2005 07:48:00 PM | 2 comments
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Experiential Epistemology I am continuing to ponder this idea of Spirit Knowing. When it comes to the Trinity, so many forms of knowing are inferior. This is at the heart of Paul's praying for the Church. Check out this one from Ephesians 1:
17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead
and this one from Ephesians 3
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
and this one from Colossians 1
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God
See any trends in these prayers?
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 6/16/2005 10:10:00 AM | 4 comments
Friday, June 03, 2005
Star Wars or Star Peace??? Recently, on a visit to a large, growing church some of the staff gave me a tour of the media department. They were really excited about a short video piece they had produced for the children's ministry and wanted to show me. Apparently, the children's ministry was having a difficult time getting adult volunteers to help. With all the Star Wars hype in the culture, they decided to do a Star Wars theme. The production was unbelievable. . . . amazing. They had children from the church starring in the roles of Luke SkyWalker, Princess Leah, Yoda and yes, Darth Vader. Luke and Leah were attempting to get the Sign-up sheet out of the hands of Darth Vader in order to save the Children's Ministry from the "Dark Side." The cinematography was all original (no scenes cut from the actual film). They were proud (rightly) that they had only utilized a bit of the famous soundtrack. The film climaxed with the massive space ship landing on the lawn of the Church. Luke Skywalker walked into the sanctuary where he met Darth Vader at the altar at which time a violent light saber fight ensued. Darth Vader used his dark powers (lightning from hands) to knock Luke to the ground and he stood there with his red light sabre poised to strike the death blow. A hoard of children in costume, including R2D2 and others rushed down the center aisle, light sabres in hand and rescued Luke and the all important "Sign-Up Sheet."
I am told the piece was met with thundrous applause and approval from the congregation, and I am not surprised. The production was amazing. They told me it took them about 100 hours to complete with the light sabre scene taking the longest since they had to paint the light over the pvc pipes the kids used in the fight scene. I also understood they got their volunteers.
Since my 4 year old Son was not allowed to see Star Wars, I opted to show him this short piece as a kind of treat. From all the cultural hype of the story, David has become very intrigued and interested in the movie. Needless to say, his response from watching the short film was, "Daddy! Lets watch it again!."
But here's the kicker. The following day, as we headed to the airport, David brought the film back up in conversation. He wanted to know, "Daddy, why were Luke SkyWalker and Darth Vader fighting in the Church?" "Daddy. . . . they were breaking God's law. You can't fight and kill each other in Church." As much as I initially liked the cute idea and was awed by the video production skills, I had to agree with the 4 year old. He's right.
I think it was David Hart, in his book "The Beauty of the Infinite" who argues that there are really only two metanarratives. There is the story of agape (love) and the story of violence. The story of agape traces to Jesus Christ. The story of violence traces to Caiphas. Are we telling the story of Jesus or are we syncretistically slouching toward the story of Caiphas? The Church I'm referring to in this instance tells the story of Jesus in marvelously creative ways and yet the interrogatory of the 4 year old should challenge them. (You see the essence of syncretism isn't to cease telling one story. It's to muddle it up with others.)
The big question: which story shapes us? I submit it is the story we remember in worship and whose plotline we learn to imaginatively enact with our lives. Herein lies the tournament of Stories. A thousand of them vie for our attention. Tim Costello recounts this illuminating interchange with Ivan Illich. "Ivan Illich was once asked what is the most revolutionary way to change society. Is it violent revolution or is it gradual reform? He gave a careful answer. Neither. If you want to change a society, then you must tell an alternative story, he concluded." Most stories only inspire imitation. If we're honest, this is what tires us with our present church culture. We are at best copycats, mimicking the forms of contemporary culture. What we long for is imagination; not something new but original creativity.
Star Wars is not a new story and while it is impressive, it lacks real imagination. It's interesting that our Story, too, finds it's advent with a Star, only this one is the sign of Peace.
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 6/03/2005 10:18:00 AM | 9 comments
Friday, May 27, 2005
Bathtub Soteriology Every night, in order to cajole our children into the bathtub, I have to initiate "The Amazing Race" beckoning everyone to drop everything they are doing and race up the stairs to get into the tub. Most nights I end up carrying Mary Kathryn up the stairs in an effort to try to outrun the undefeated champion of The Amazing Race, David. Anyhow, last night as I was carrying Mary Kathryn (2) up the stairs she said a curious and interesting thing to me. She said, "Daddy I broke God's law today." I said, "How?" She responded, "I had anger in my heart." Then she volunteered something really interesting. "Jesus left my heart." Now understand, Tiffani and I aren't the kind of parents who are trying to get our children to pray a formula prayer of salvation to make us feel better about their eternal destiny. Nor are we, I hope, inculcating the deep inferiority complex that comes from a behavioral based conditional love and approval. We are pretty self aware of this pervasive tendency in this performance age in which we live.
They are all 3 baptized and we are leading them in a daily way of discipleship, but salvation is a mystery--like the wind--Jesus says. Our primary mode of discipleship is simple story-telling. My point in saying this is to acknowledge that Mary Kathryn is doing her own math with this assertion. It's not parental systematic theology. "Daddy, I broke God's law today. . . . I had anger in my heart. . . . Jesus left my heart." So as I put her in the water I suggested to her that she tell God she was sorry and I led her in a short prayer. Then she volunteered this, "Daddy, Jesus is back." So in the spirit of my friend, Nolan Donald, one of the 8 persons world-wide who read my blog, I pose the following question: What's that about?
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 5/27/2005 07:57:00 AM | 9 comments
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Blue Skadood. . . . . we can too! An icon of the baptism of Christ sits propped up in a chair in the corner of my office at the seminary. It was a gift to the seminary from the graduating class of 1995 in honor of our friend, then Dean of the Chapel Jerry Mercer. A deep blue river flows out of a seeming rift in a rocky mountain range. John the Baptist is on the left side of the river. Three angels are on the right side of the river. Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World, is in the middle of the river. A brightly illuminated, focused beam of light streams out of the sky and down onto Jesus. The form of a dove captures the center of the stream of light.
Every time my family comes to the office for a visit, my 2 year old daughter, Mary Kathryn, climbs into that chair. Resting on her knees, she begins to touch the picture, tracing its lines and imagery with her hands and asking me questions about what she sees. Her favorite question: “What’s he doing Daddy?” Just a couple of weeks ago she pointed to the dove descending from the heavens, inquiring, “What’s that Daddy?” So I made an attempt to explain the Holy Spirit and to tell her what God was saying to Jesus from Heaven. She didn’t seem too interested in my explanation. A few minutes later I noticed her still in the chair and still on her knees. With her small, pudgy index finger she was tracing the streaming flow of the Holy Spirit coming from the Father in Heaven onto the Son in the water in the form of the dove. And she was singing, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. . . Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. . . Yes Jesus Loves me. . . Yes Jesus loves me.
And I thought to myself, “She’s got it!” In some mysterious way, grace was working through that icon to draw my little Mary Kathryn, a 2 year old, into the very story the image proclaimed. The love of the Father lavished on the Son in the gift of the Word and Holy Spirit. The love of the Son unleashed on the whole World through the gift of baptism. She skadood into the Trinity. . . . .
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 4/27/2005 11:27:00 PM | 6 comments
Saturday, April 16, 2005
embracing rejection i'll get back to the GMA awards soon-- wanted to interject with this idea on my heart today.
"I will gladly spend myself and all I have for your spiritual good, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me." 2 corinthians 12:15.
this amazes me-- the idea of embracing rejection. it is so easy to reject rejection and those who reject you. I am truly in and have been in a season of rejection-- like nothing I have ever experienced. And the Holy Spirit is trying to teach me what it means to embrace rejection. This is the way of the cross isn't it? But what does it look like?
I have been weaned off of the milk of human affirmation and am being led more and more into the solid food of Abba's Love. Perhaps the rejection of people has been a kind of forced fast to prepare me for the real feast. One thing I learned in the 40 days of Lent this year is that the Word of God can't be a source of food apart from fasting. It was after Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert that he was able to respond to Satan-- Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. In the wilderness Jesus feasted on the Word spoken by his Father over him at baptism: This is my Son, my beloved. With him I am well pleased. His identity streamed from the love of the heart of the Father. What I love about this word is that it was spoken prior to Jesus actually doing anything. This is the word of baptism. This gave him the only necessary preparation for his vocation, which sings in this word: Greater love has no one that this to lay down his life for his friends. . . .said another way. . . . This is my body, broken for you. This is the word of Eucharist.
The Gospel is becoming really simple for me-- its about two things: Intimate Sonship & Extravagant Friendship. It sums up the love of God and the love of neighbor: to belong to the Father and to lay down my life for the other; Baptism and Eucharist. The former is identity and the latter vocation. To live at the intersection of these loves is to be alive in Christ-- to walk in the Way of the Cross.
This is to literally carry "death" in our bodies, as Paul speaks of. Perhaps it is to embrace rejection in such a way that life springs forth.
"I will gladly spend myself and all I have for your spiritual good, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me." 2 corinthians 12:15.
what do you think about these thoughts? make any sense?
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 4/16/2005 11:40:00 AM | 5 comments
Friday, April 01, 2005
tournament of stories So last night as I am putting David and Mary Kathryn to bed David says to me, "Daddy, when I grow up I want to make a LOT of money. I want to be rich!" I said, in a shocked tone, "David! Where did you get that?" There was no answer. We continued reading Bible stories. We were reading the Kingdom parables-- mustard seed, yeast, hidden treasure, pearl of great price and so forth. A few minutes later, out of the clear blue, he freely offered this: "When we keep our eyes on Jesus we can walk on water. If we look away we will fall in." We hadn't read that story on this night, but he remembered it.
It reaffirmed to me the daily battle we all face-- the battle only a child will be bold enough to be honest about: the battle of stories. The story of "making a lot of money" vs. "When we keep our eyes on Jesus we can walk on water." They vie for priority in our life. Which will carry the day in David's life? Which carries the day in my own?
The one we constantly remember.
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 4/01/2005 09:14:00 PM | 5 comments
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Intimate Sonship I had the privilege of preaching Good Friday this year in Houstson. Chris Tomlin and I co-led Good Friday at the Pavilion in The Woodlands, the Church where we served together in ministry some years ago. It was such a blessing to be part of this.
The Gospel is getting simpler and simpler for me. This is interesting in that I work in a place where theology gets ever more complex. For me it comes down to two basic realities: Intimate Sonship and Extravagant Friendship. Intimate sonship (or daughterhood) provides identity. Extravagant friendship is the mission. Authentic identity comes from being related to God as a son or daughter. Authentic ministry comes only through self-giving relationships with others. To attempt ministry without authentic identity is to unwittingly serve yourself.
To receive identity as a gift-- this is grace. When Jesus was baptized, the Father spoke over him these words, "This is my Son, my beloved, with him I am well pleased." It's interesting that this word came before Jesus did anything; at the beginning of his ministry. That's where it must begin with us. This is what I am learning. The way of the cross is the journey from slavery to sonship to friendship. More on this to come.
At the Good Friday service, Chris and I launched a brand new song-- one we wrote together back in January. The song is called Uncreated One. I'll offer the lyrics here soon. I think it will be a real fruit of our friendship.
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 3/29/2005 09:20:00 PM | 3 comments
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Feasting and Fasting I've been meeting with a group of students each Wednesday through the noon hour (following our Communion Chapel) for a time of teaching, fasting and prayer. We've been conferencing about the practice of fasting and it's been really illuminating. One of the students, Jason, responded to one of my questions with the following insight which has really helped me.
"A second thing that I've noticed through participating in the fasting group and in my "feasting" on Scripture is that the gospel writers seem to connect Jesus' baptism with his time of fasting. Through my understanding, baptism symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection, and it seems as if this story is connecting this life of God with fasting. Jesus hears the voice of his Father that his Father is pleased with Him, then he goes into the wilderness to live on the words of this voice. The life that we have "is not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Fasting is a time of living on the voice of God."
I had never connected this word-- "This is my beloved son, whom I love," with living on "every word that comes from the mouth of God." Fasting becomes the means of knowing the affirming love of the Father-- which is true sustenance. Something I'm learning in a whole new way these days. I've realized how dependent I am on the fickle opinions of people.
Here's the battle--- My worth = How well I do + What you think of me VS. My worth = Abba, Father, I belong to you. posted by John David Walt | at 3/15/2005 11:09:00 PM | 2 comments
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Resurrection Eggs We've been rehearsing the Easter Story with our children through these 40 days of Passion through the use of "Resurrection Eggs." A pretty creative idea, Resurrection Eggs, are a dozen plastic colored eggs in an egg carton; each containing a small trinket (i.e. plastic donkey, leather whip strip, white linen cloth, small rock, etc.) to help narrate through the Story. It's a lot of fun because it gives the children (really the parents!) something to hold onto as the Story unfolds. The final egg--you guessed it-- is empty. We have a lot of fun saying "And on the Third Day the women came to the tomb and it was EMPTY!!!
Last night Mary Kathryn (2.75) asked for "two more minutes" with the eggs after we shared it together. So far she's been pretty quiet through the telling. David (4.75) is the more vocal participant and serves as a co-commentator; doing "color" so to speak. With her little chubby hands, Mary Kathryn began to open each of the eggs again, taking out the trinket and then carefully putting it back in and closing the egg. She had them completely out of order as she tried to capture the essence of what they stood for with passioned inflection in her voice. But interestingly she made a consistent refrain prior to opening each egg-- she said, "And On the Third Day"
It's nice theology, really. We can't talk about the donkey ride or the Upper Room or the soldiers gambling or the spear in His side or the cross or any of it on the Egypt side of Easter. (get what I mean?) In other words-- the journey of Lent happens in the Light of "And on the Third Day." He is Risen--already-- though in us not yet completely. That's what the journey of Lent is about.
Labels: passion year, theology
posted by John David Walt | at 3/09/2005 10:19:00 AM | 5 comments
Sunday, February 13, 2005
wrestling to prepare This past week I got to try out my "preparation" theory when I preached in Chapel at the seminary. I struggled like never before to arrive at a finished manuscript. It just never got finished. I studied, prayed and pondered the text for months. I wrote ideas-- revisions-- for weeks. In the final days leading up to the sermon I attempted to simply spend time before God in adoration-- in seeking to behold the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And I asked him to help me have real love for the people to whom I would be preaching. My focus got real and refreshingly simple.
As I began the sermon I remember looking down on the pulpit and seeing only the small frame of my Bible and kind of chuckling under my breath-- like "What have I done!" I felt kind of lost throughout the sermon. I felt like the 4 year old who drove his parents car to the video store at 1:30am-- hitting two cars and a policeman along the way. I sensed that I was connecting with people as I preached, but I did not feel in control of the message at any point. I was unable to close the message-- we simply called people to pray together in small groups.
Anyhow-- I have received more authentic, affirming feedback on that sermon than any other I have preached. It is beginning to confirm to me how upside down my notions of preaching have been. Before it was oriented around coming up with something insightful to say, being a master of the material, getting it right, and impressively communicating. The new paradigm: I am on a journey to be prepared to be out of control. It is about studying and seeking and its about adoration and love. . . . . .
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 2/13/2005 11:14:00 PM | 3 comments
Friday, January 28, 2005
Preparation I've been wrestling with what it means to be prepared to minister-- esp as relates to preaching. Does it mean to have memorized your notes; to have mastered the material. That has mostly how I have thought of it in the past. But a great presentation just doesn't seem to cut it when you are speaking for God. To get it right just doesn't seem to measure up.
Here's how I'm presently thinking. Understand though-- I'm not talking about shoddy composition or trying to make any excuses for not doing the requisite research and study. But what is the real measure of preparation.
When the measure of our preparation is adoration and the substance of our intercession is love then our ministry (i.e. preaching, etc.) will happen in real time. . . . . in the live streaming of the presence of God.
What do you think of that?
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 1/28/2005 04:52:00 PM | 2 comments
Monday, January 17, 2005
I have an ideal? Martin Luther King, Jr. Day renews my thinking about an idea. The paradigm of earth-bound humanity is a continuum with cynicism at one end and idealism at the other and a thousand shades of realism between. Like this:
CYNICISM----(pessimism)----REALISM----(optimism)----IDEALISM
The interesting feature is that cynicism and idealism are two shades of the same thing. Cynicism is the ultimate death of idealism. I find this is the continuum that plagues academic places. Academic institutions, in my experience, are filled with cynics and idealists. Ideals are projections of perfection. Most often they are unreal and unattainable. The death of ideals often leads to cynicism. Living in this paradigm usually means vascillating between pessimism and optimism.
The paradigm of "on earth as it is in heaven" is a continuum with faith at one end and hope at the other and a thousand shades of love between. Like this:
FAITH-----(charity)-----LOVE-----(compassion)-----HOPE
What is fascinating about this continuum is these three realities last forever. Though faith is the substance of things hoped for, when the hoped for finally comes faith remains. How does that work? I am seeing with dim clarity at this point. As for the difference between charity and compassion-- charity is giving away your extra shirt-- love gives away the shirt off your back. love is the ever-progressive sacrifice of suffering for the other.
Back to Martin-- his dream, in the hands of earth-bound humans, easily conforms to ideals which, when unattained, leads to cynical outlooks. But his dream flourishes when allowed to live as a marker of the Kingdom of Heaven breaking in on Earth. Martin didn't have an ideal-- but a dream.
The difference in the paradigms is in the simplicity of one word: Jesus. And the secret to living in the reality of the latter is this: Christ in You-- the Hope of Glory.
I welcome help in thinking about this?
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 1/17/2005 08:35:00 PM | 1 comments
Sunday, January 16, 2005
HIGHER MATH I'm back-- I couldn't remember my username and password-- got locked out of my own blog. Anyhow, lots to talk about. I'll start with another equation I'm working on. It was inspired by my involvement with Passion 05 earlier in January in Nashville.
Passion = Love + Suffering x Joy
More later
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 1/16/2005 09:37:00 PM | 2 comments
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
On the Freedom of Creativity For a long time now my friends and colleagues have encouraged me to write more. Finally, this past summer I launched into a book project and am now working on another. They should be published successively the next couple of summers. I regret, however, to say it has been one of the more disappointing experiences of my life. My editor, a nice and capable person, has all but convinced me that I have little to say and write even worse. I have become painfully aware of mechanics and am losing my sense of ease and flow with words. As I have tried to pull out of my ambivalent despair over it I have remembered an experience from my childhood.
When I was about ten my grandfather gave me a junior set of golf clubs. He took my cousin and I to a golf pro at a public "Jay Cees" golf course (i.e. goat ranch) to get us started. The pro dumped out what seemed like a thousand golf balls and said, "Go at it." The wise old instructor carefully observed us for a long time before ever saying a word. My swing fell into a really strong groove. I was gaining confidence by the shot it seemed, just by having him watch. Every ten shots or so, he would offer advice, make a slight correction but always with an affirming spirit. We returned three or four more times that summer for lessons. My junior golfing career was off and running. I won three tournaments that first summer and developed a deep love for the game.
Seeing my natural "potential," the next summer, my grandfather took me to a different pro. This guy was much younger, worked at a prestigious country club, and had a reputation for being on the cutting edge of the game. From the first shot, this pro began to systematically dismantle my golf swing, deconstructing my natural rhythms and micro-managing every square inch of my game. Whereas before there was an unconscious simplicity about my swing, I became painfully conscious of my every move. I went from hitting a natural draw to a cutting slice and nothing could correct it. It has taken me years to regain confidence in my golf swing in a measure restoring my joy and love of the game.
I am trying to learn. I do believe editorial instruction and correction are imperative-- no way to improve without it. But in an artistic process, encouragement and affirmation are also imperative. And at the end of the day, the clay is the clay. In other words, I am me and I bring what I bring to the potters wheel. Please pray for a restoration of my confidence and an ensuing humility that empowers me to create beauty with words again.
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 12/14/2004 07:07:00 AM | 5 comments
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
The Practice of Availability & Obedience Here am I the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your Word. (Luke 1:38)
This prayer of Mary is one I am trying to pray through these days of Advent. I am hearing the call to pray and fast and yet differently. It seems more like simple watching. . . intentional breathing. . . keener attentiveness. Seasons like this are few and far between in my life. Advent it seems is a call to Attention. The Gospel text for this week is from Matthew-- Jesus warns
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 24:42
Things too deep to articulate are happening within me and teh inability to articulate them makes me feel ignorant. For awhile I thought that was humility but now I am sure it is ignorance. Humility is knowing a lot but not thinking highly of yourself. Ignorance is knowing you don't know a lot. I sense a next phase of education coming-- not in the conventional sense-- but in the classroom of the Spirit. As in, "the Spirit will teach you."
I must first learn what it means to show up for class. To be able to truly say, "Here am I the servant of the Lord." That's what it means to show up. It's the practice of radical availability.
That is why I am trying to fast. I am so bad at it-- so please give the Holy Spirit permission to prompt you to pray for me.
Labels: passion year, theology
posted by John David Walt | at 11/30/2004 06:38:00 PM | 0 comments
Today...